I think my pumping journey might be over 😢
My little girl is 3 weeks and 3 days old, and I set out wanting to exclusively pump. We breastfed while my milk came in, which I found really difficult but we did it 💗 we now sort of combi-feed as I’ve always struggled to keep up with her. I pump about 140ml each time, and she drinks between 120-140ml. She also cluster feeds in the evening so we started supplementing with formula maybe 1 or 2 feeds a day so I could get on top of my fridge stash.
The past few days I’ve been really ill, and I’m still recovering from my c section which has taken me by surprise on how slow it is. I’ve missed pumping windows for 2 days, some windows going as far as 5 or 6 hours. I was either doing other things such as sorting things for my 3 year old, or I’ve fallen asleep and slept through the window with being unwell. I’m now trying to pump again last night and today and I’m barely clearing 100ml between both sides 😭
I feel so guilty. Like if I’d have just stuck to the 3 h r windows like I’m meant to then I’d have enough for my little girl. I’ll continue pumping but I feel like I’m just not enough for my little girl and I’ll have to formula feed her. I really wanted to breast feed for minimum 6 weeks
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Don’t be too hard on yourself mama you’ve done a great job getting to this far. Don’t give up just yet as usually you can bring back your supply but the general rule is it’ll take the same amount of time e.g if you didn’t keep it up for 2 days it’ll take 2 consecutive days of being on top of it to bring it back. also just remember you pump less than baby drinks at the breast and also babies drink more from bottles so in the meantime try to feed at the breast then pump as and when you can in between to bring your supply back. Keep your fluids up but also remember if it is the end of your journey that’s absolutely fine too ❤️
Don’t be discouraged! It’s only been a couple days and just pump a little bit more often for a few days and your supply will get back up again! Also, supplementing with formula probably made your supply dip. The more you breast-feed, the more milk you make. I restarted and replenish my milk supply after not pumping for an entire week. It just takes a couple of days!
Also, if she will let John, just latch her on a lot more in the next couple days in your milk supply will get right back where it should be
If you can, just get her on the breast. Direct breast is by far the best way for mum and baby to find the right balance of supply and demand. The cluster feeding is a marvellous message to your body to produce more. A baby is far more efficient at taking your milk than a pump can ever be. Keep on going and trust the breast feeding process. I would avoid all pumping and formula now unless you are pumping purely to increase supply. Just my opinion
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